Umbrella Companies for Public Sector Contractors

We are now seeing a massive take-up of umbrella companies for public sector contractors.

This is due to the Government changing the rules for contractors who work in the private sector.

They have now taken the IR35 decision out of contractors hands and it is the Government department who will now decide a contractor’s status.

The contractor can appeal this – to HMRC.

(Pause for a chuckle)

New Online HMRC IR35 Test

HMRC are telling us that they are devising an online IR35 test which will show whether a contractor is inside IR35 or outside it.

Of course, it will do nothing of the kind.

It is the laws of the land and the courts which decide that.

They have already told us that they are going to ‘cheat’ with this test.

Even before they have unveiled it they are telling us that they expect 90% of contractors to fail it.

How can that be?

Currently more than 90% of contractors are OUTSIDE IR35.

Indeed, when HMRC investigate contractors for IR35 they have a very low success rate.

And they must surely be picking what they see as the likeliest candidates.

Keep Using Their Personal Service Companies

Of course, most public sector contractors would prefer to keep using their personal service companies.

However, they are taking a big risk if they ask to sit the online IR35 test to try to prove their status.

The results are relayed to HMRC.

If the contractor fails the IR35 test, and has previously been using a personal service company on previous contracts, he, or she, is a prime target for investigation.

Government Picking on Contractors in the Public Sector

It’s easier for the Government to attack contractors in the public sector than in the private sector.

To hit those in the private sector they have to change the IR35 legislation.

Then they might have to fight long battles in the courts.

With public sector contractors they can just change their ‘house rules’.

After all, employers can make any rules they want when hiring contractors.

No Longer Taking Contractors Using Personal Service Companies

Some Government departments are now taking the easy way out and saying that they will no longer take on contractors using personal service companies.

The news on contractor websites has been about the number of contractors who have either quit the public sector because of this, or who plan to before it comes in during early April.

Umbrella Companies for Public Sector Contractors Option

However, an even bigger story is about the number of contractors who are dumping their personal service companies and going en masse to umbrella companies.

There is a big sudden uptake in umbrella companies for public sector contractors.

Sudden Demand for Umbrella Companies

Another contractor website owner told us that he was snowed under by public sector contractors wanting umbrella companies.

A provider of umbrella company services told us that they are snowed under too.

They are telling us that they are getting one contractor applying to join them from a public sector department and then getting the contact details from him, or her, of other contractors in the department who want them to contact them about joining them.

It’s an absolute stampede of public sector contractors out of PSCs and into umbrella companies.

Many more are doing this than leaving the public sector.

I’m sure that many more of them would like to quit.

Public Sector Business and Systems Knowledge

However, the reality is that their skills and business knowledge pertain to the public sector and they are not going to be at the front of the queue for contracts with banks, telecoms companies or oil companies.

So, for many, the reality of the situation is that they have to join umbrella companies.

And that is what most are doing in their hundreds and thousands.

It looks like it is umbrella companies for public sector contractors now for the most part.

Ad – Simply Umbrella – Simply the Best

New umbrella product Simply Umbrella came into being to solve this problem.

It adheres to all the new tax rules. They created it after the Chancellor’s spring statement.

It’s just like other umbrella companies in that the contractor is an employee of Simply Umbrella but they get to keep far more of their money than through an ordinary umbrella company.

It could be a great solution for both public sector contractors IR35 problems and indeed any contractor.

Limited Company Returns

British contractors can now get limited company returns of 85% to 90% returns on their income – or even higher. We have one company which offers 92% returns.

Those British contractors who paid the IR35 Tax are the worst off of all contractors as they pay tax as if they were a permanent employee.

Onshore Umbrella Company Contractors

Onshore umbrella company contractors are next worse off. They were able to claim up to 5% of their expenses against tax and so were able to save a little.

However, the Chancellor intends to take away their ability to offset expenses such as travel and subsistence against tax. He intends taking this away in April 2016. He is currently in consultations as to the best way to do this.

British Limited Company Contractors

A bit better off are the standard limited company contractors. It is reckoned that they pay £10,000 a year less tax than umbrella company contractors, on average.

They set up schemes that would save them a fortune in tax, and, in Ian Cameron’s case, to allow others to save a fortune in tax.

Loans Not Taxable

2. The second law that makes this feasible is that loans are not taxable.

So, what happens is that British contractors pay their money to an offshore company who invest it for them.

The scheme pays the contractor the equivalent amount in loans.

Supposedly the contractor will pay the full amount of tax on that money when it comes back onshore. Of course it never does for reason.

Contractor Loans Not Inherited

3. The third law that makes it feasible is that you don’t inherit loans. The loan debts of one generation do not pass to the next. Your loans die with you. This means that the loans you took out in lieu of your income will eventually pass away with you.

The Conservatives won’t change law as so many of their own make use of this to save themselves a fortune. The big hedge funds, who are such big donors to the Conservative party, would lose out if this was changed.

They won’t change the second law, i.e. they wouldn’t make loans taxable, as this would cause chaos in the banking sector. This is so lucrative worldwide for the UK, which has a dominant position in Europe in it.

They wouldn’t change the 3rd law, either, to pass on one persons loan debts to the next generation.

Can you imagination the outcry that would cause among Tory supporters if they did that?

So, that is why offshore umbrella companies work for British contractors.

Onshore Limited Companies

There is an alternative, now, however.

There are onshore limited company solutions which take advantage of efficient tax planning to give contractors similar returns that they can get from using offshore umbrella companies. However, all of the money stays onshore.

British contractors can get limited company returns in the same 85% to 90% bracket as they would for using offshore umbrella companies. However, all of the money stays onshore and passes through their own limited companies in the UK.

Offshore Schemes Legal

Are offshore schemes legal? Are the Offshore Umbrella Companies that contractors use legal?

Offshore Schemes can be perfectly legal HMRC’s Commissioner and Director General for Enforcement and Compliance, Jennie Granger, said. According to today’s Times she conceded that “There is nothing illegal about an international structure, especially in a globally integrated economy and these arrangements may be particularly legitimate”.

So, many contractors and freelancers are now aping the bigger companies and even members of Parliament. They are using offshore schemes such as offshore umbrella companies.

Offshore Schemes Legal – Tax Systems of Countries

Jonathan Schwartz, a barrister at Temple Tax Chambers and a professor in international tax law, said “All laws influence and tax laws are no different. The tax behaviour of companies is largely driven by the tax systems they engage with.

“Tax administrators must apply the law as it exists rather than what they, or anyone else, might think it ought to be”.

Offshore Umbrella Companies Legal

That makes a lot of sense. There’s no point in Governments or MPs moaning about companies behaving immorally, when avoiding tax, when they just follow the tax rules created by Governments. It is their laws that make offshore schemes legal.

Usually the companies are just using schemes that the Government created, like special tax dispensation for the film industry, so that they come to the UK rather than go elsewhere.

The UK Government complain about companies avoiding paying tax whilst, at the same time, progressively cutting Corporation Tax. This is with the purpose of undercutting other countries. It is their stated intention to have the lowest Corporation Tax of all the G8 countries.

David Cameron’s Legacy

Then there’s David Cameron whose family money came from his father Ian’s use for himself, and others, of offshore schemes. There’s Chancellor Osborne who has an offshore family trust worth £4.5m.

Then there’s Margaret Hodge herself, the hammer of the multinationals like Google, whom she calls immoral. She has been exposed as owning part of an offshore company.

Stemcor paid her dividends of £50,000 last year. Her stake is worth over a million pounds. Tax was paid at less than 2%. Google would have been appreciative.

Said Mike Dean of Milestone International Tax partners “The companies under fire are doing nothing wrong legally, morally or ethically. They are, in fact, using the tax system in the way intended”.

Therefore, its Government laws that make offshore schemes legal like offshore umbrella companies.

Gain an Advantage

It is Governments who have been trying to ‘cheat’ and gain an advantage on other countries, in certain areas, that has caused this problem. Offshore schemes and offshore umbrella companies are just taking advantage of all of this.

Offshore Umbrella Company Benefits

The main benefits are all connected to the money. This is the best way for contractors to keep most of their money. They can keep anywhere between 84% and 90% of their hard-earned money.

The exact amount depends on how much they are earning.

Mrs Thatcher Changed the Loan laws

Offshore Umbrella Companies started up when Mrs Thatcher changed the laws so that money sent offshore was no longer taxable. It was one of the first laws she brought in when she became Prime Minister in 1979. The Tory party grandees were among the first to get the benefits.

One of the earliest to benefit was David Cameron’s father Ian. He quickly saw the benefits and set up lots of offshore schemes. Indeed he made his money that way. That’s where David Cameron’s inheritance came from.

Many of the Tory grandees saw the benefits and operate schemes like these including Lord Astor, David Cameron’s father-in-law and Lord Ashcroft, the Tory party’s main donor.

How Loans Works

So, the money that is sent offshore stays offshore. The Offshore umbrella company loans the contractor money in lieu of that loan. The loan is never paid back. The contractor defaults on that. The Offshore Umbrella Company takes the money in lieu of that.

Money is not taxed until it comes back onshore. The money never does. It is different money. Loans aren’t taxable. This is how it all works. It’s how the contractor benefits.

Tax Avoidance

It is tax avoidance, of course. However, it is legal and it is not tax evasion which is illegal.

The Government complain about it. However, it is they who make the rules. It is they who can change them. Contractors and others are only taking advantage of the rules as they are. They take the benefits from the Governments own laws.

Indeed it is the legal duty of the directors of a company to maximise the returns for shareholders.

Of course, the Government don’t want to change the rules as it benefits many of their party sponsors. Indeed George Osborne has a Â£4.5m family offshore trust. He sees the benefits of it.

Benefits Not Intended

It’s annoying for the Government when newspapers reveal that comedians and rock stars are reaping these offshore umbrella company benefits.

The benefits weren’t intended for the likes of them and contractors. The Government had to react. However, they don’t change the law.

So, just fill in the form below to get your information pack on how the above three best umbrella companies alternatives work. Click Y against each of those options for which you want to receive the Infopack.

Onshore Umbrella Company Alternatives

It would be worth contractors looking at onshore umbrella company alternatives. These can give let them keep 85% to 90% of the money they earn.

Freelancers usually take the Personal Service Company or PAYE Umbrella Company route if they don’t go with offshore umbrella companies.

Therefore, if they want to stay onshore, there are a number of alternatives to those.

Indeed, there are a number of Umbrella Company Alternatives which are onshore rather than offshore.

They can be as attractive financially as offshore companies – and none of the money goes offshore.

So, they take advantage of tax incentives in the UK.

Limited Company Alternatives

Another alternative is to use a UK-based Tax Planning solution that allows you to continue to use your limited company.

Sometimes, agencies tell contractors that they have to use one of their recommended umbrella companies. They have a Preferred Supplier List.

There’s a good chance that the agencies are ‘getting a bung’ for doing this or getting some kind of ‘payment in kind’. This is actually illegal under the 2010 Bribery Act.

Agencies and Limited Companies

However, if contractors use one of the Umbrella Company Alternative solutions, which uses a limited company, agencies would not even be aware of it. The contractor would just tell them that they have their own limited company.

Agencies don’t insist that limited company contractors use umbrella companies.

So, here are examples of Umbrella Company Alternatives which use Limited Companies.

They make use of different tax incentives to cut the amount of tax that the contractor pays. All use the contractor’s limited company.

Example of Umbrella Company Alternative

Therefore, you should click on this to find out more information, or to apply, about umbrella company alternatives.

Offshore Umbrella Companies Returns

Offshore Umbrella Companies returns are the best returns a contractor can get. Those using them are able to keep the most of the money they earn of all contractors.

The returns can be as high as 90% depending on income.

It’s usually reckoned that a contractor using an onshore umbrella company will pay around ten grand a year tax more than one using a limited company.

However, offshore returns dwarf even that of limited companies. Indeed, it could make another ten grand’s difference again to the UK Contractor.

Difference in Take Home Pay

So, the difference between the annual take home pay between a contractor in an offshore company and one in an onshore one can be as much as £20,000 a year.

That’s a difference, over 15 years or so, of around £300,000. Once you’ve added in the extra earning potential of having that extra money to invest, it could be quite a substantial sum we are talking about.

On the Stock Market you are able to get an average return of around 12% a year, including dividends.

Extra Money Calculation

If you calculate how much your extra 20 grand a year would come to over 15 years at 12% interest a year, your money would be worth an extra £835,000 over that 15 years.

Of course, if you are better than the average Stock Market punter you could make even more.

So, it is clear that Offshore returns are much higher than for those using onshore companies. Using them would make contractors a million quid richer in 16 and one-third years, I calculate. That’s not to be sniffed at.

If you are going to be a successful and rich contractor you should maximise your returns from your earnings.

How They Work

Contractors want to know how they work.

Offshore Umbrella Companies normally operate through loans. In 1979 the Thatcher government, in one of its very first bills, allowed money to go offshore untaxed. It doesn’t get taxed till it comes back onshore, if ever.

This opened the way for offshore schemes and offshore umbrella companies which operate in places like the Isle of Man, Jersey, the Bahamas, Bermuda etc.

Indeed most of the world’s hedge funds operate from one of the UK’s offshore islands.

How they work is that money held offshore is not taxed unless it returns to the UK. Among the first to take advantage of this were the Tory Party grandees.

David Cameron’s father made his money this way by setting up schemes both for himself and others. David Cameron’s inheritance came mostly from money earned this way. Another to benefit is Chancellor Osborne who has £4.5m held offshore in a family trust.

Tory Party’s Money

Much of the Tory party’s money comes from people who operate these schemes. Lord Ashcroft, the top donor and fundraiser for the Conservative Party operates these offshore schemes. Now contractors and freelancers are enjoying the benefits of it too.

How they work is that most of the offshore umbrella companies and offshore schemes operate through loans. Because they’ve sent money offshore untaxed, i.e. the money they earn, that money is not taxable till they bring it back onshore. However, it never does.

Because they have that money offshore, the offshore umbrella companies that they operate through will loan them money back in lieu of that. They will then take that money back at the end to pay back that loan. Money loaned is not taxable.

Different Money Comes Back Onshore

Basically it is different money that comes back onshore than the money sent off. How they work is that he contractor receives loans and never pays them back as the offshore umbrella companies take the money sent offshore in lieu of those loans.

This is all completely legal. There is nothing HMRC can do about it as it is all framed in UK law. They would have to change the law to stop it and that is fraught with difficulties and would hit the Tory Grandees who basically pay for the Conservative Party.

Very Neat Scheme

There is one other scheme, which is quite neat, which one offshore umbrella company operates. They basically invest your money in a whole range of safe companies and send you loans in lieu of that money. You may even make a profit when you eventually quit the scheme and the only tax you would pay would be capital gains tax on the profits.

Offshore Umbrella Company Returns

So, what are the offshore umbrella company returns on your hard-earned cash compared to other options?

First of all, what are the other options?

Firstly, you can just pay up on your IR35 tax. Secondly you can operate through a Limited Company (or Personal Service Company). Thirdly you can operate through a PAYE Umbrella Company. Finally, you can operate through an offshore umbrella company.

Offshore Umbrella Company

Offshore Umbrella Company Returns can vary anywhere between 85% and 90%, depending on your income. Using offshore umbrella companies are by far the best method of keeping most of your money.

So, if you earned £100,000 you would expect to keep £85,000 to £90,000 of the money you earn.

Limited Company (Personal Service Company)

This is the next best option. However, you would still be £10,000 to £15,000 down than the offshore umbrella company returns. You would expect to keep around 75% of your money. So, you would keep around £75,000 if you earned £100,000.

Onshore Umbrella Company

Using a normal onshore umbrella company would let you keep around 60% of the money you earn. This means you would keep around £60,000 of the £100,000 you earned.

PAYE Operator

If you pay the IR35 tax or use normal PAYE, you would get back around £55,000 of £100,000 that you earned.

There are many reasons for using one or the other. However, if it is a bean count, and you are just going for the most lucrative option then the offshore umbrella company returns of up to £90,000 makes it a no-brainer for contractors.

You could be keeping up to £30,000 a year more by using an offshore umbrella company rather than using a normal onshore umbrella company. That mounts up over time. That money escapes you.